Europe in the First Millennium BC.

Cunliffe, Barry

This volume comprises 13 papers given at a conference held in Copenhagen in 1989 which set out to explore' current archaeological interpretations and explanations of the social and economic transformations that characterized European societies during the centuries that preceded the formation of the Roman Empire'. As a conference one suspects it succeeded, but as a publication it is more than a little uneven. The papers fall into three broad categories, those which were carefully prepared to present a range of newly organized data to stimulate discussion within the parameters set by the conference, those which present summaries of detailed research already in progress, much of which is published or to be published elsewhere, and those which work up generalized ideas or personal viewpoints. All will have had a degree of value within the conference context, but in published form appearing five years after the event some contributions look distinctly jaded.

The three papers which stand up to the test of time are, significantly perhaps, those of the Danish contingent. The mood is set by Kristian Kristiansen's `The emergence of the European world system in the Bronze Age: divergence, convergence and social evolution during the first and second millennia BC in Europe'. The essence of Kristiansen's closely argued text is that the cultural and social changes occurring throughout the 2nd and 1st millennia were similar across time because the trajectories generated were based on a strictly limited number of organizational variants the interaction of which can be interpreted within a core-periphery model. Agricultural constraints and demographic growth created recurring demographic and ecological crises while the innate warrior ideology, predicated on expansion, inevitably forced internal competition to the point of stress and fragmentation leading to external expansion. While the paper is, as the author readily admits, only a sketch, it presents a compelling vision of later European pre-history and deserves to be widely read.

This same broad approach, though more restricted in time, is taken by Patrice Brun in an all-too-brief account of ideas published in more detail elsewhere, on the transformations taking place from C. 500 BC to AD 500. The text is too summary to do justice to the ideas it contains but it does serve as a useful footnote to Kristiansen's broader vision, reminding us of the relevance of Brun's stimulating work already in print.

The second Danish contribution, Henrik Thrane's `Centres of wealth in Northern Europe, in which the author brings together a range of data, culled largely from his earlier studies, is a wide-ranging and thoughtful review of the problems inherent in the archaeological interpretation of wealth in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age. It shows constraint born of an intimate knowledge of the evidence. It also provides a useful link to Jorgen Jensen's contribution "The turning point', in which the cultural transformations in the western Baltic region in the 1st millennium are reviewed through the evidence of settlement, graves and hoards presented against the environmental background. The thrust of Jensen's argument is that events in the north can only be understood in relation to the broader European picture. When the temperate zone of middle Europe fin a north-south sense) is incorporated in the Mediterranean zone - a process which begins in Hallstatt D - the north European lowland zone begins its descent into a long period of regionalism. It was only after the development of oppida in middle Europe at the end of the 2nd century BC that the reintegration of the north begins and a new warrior elite emerges, distinguishing itself by the display of rich goods imported from the Celtic south.

What all the papers, mentioned so far, have in common is a belief that in the 2nd and 1st millennia BC it is possible to stand back from the mass of available detail to discern the broad patterns which underlie the social, economic and cultural development of Europe and that the entire region is so bound together as to be caught up in a single rhythm. This world systems, approach has an excitement which for many of us is compulsive. It encourages us to break out from the clawing mass of detail and to leave aside the worst excess of the old New Archaeology. Already it is leading to new insights but, like so many of the themes avidly taken over by archaeologists from kindred disciplines, the world systems approach has to be used with caution: it is a means to achieve greater understanding rather than a dogma to be worshipped. This said, none of the papers in the book under review show any signs of excessive enthusiasm but pattern recognition is a seductive pursuit and could lead us into dangerous generalizations. Already, one suspects, the emphasis on the south-north rhythm might be obscuring the no less significant interactions generated from the Atlantic zone and the Pontic Steppe heartland.

The volume tempers the generalizing overviews with more detailed regional studies - Aleksander Palavestra on the central Balkans; Ludwig Pauli on west central Europe, Jir i Waldhauser on Bohemia and Tim Champion on eastern Britain. All refer to detailed studies which, for the most part, the authors have published elsewhere.

The rest of the contributions are more heterogeneous. Rowlands explores the nature of gift exchange and market economies, Collis offers views on reconstructing Iron Age societies, Frankenstein summarizes some aspects of her work on Phoenician contact with Iberia, Sara Champion reflects on the scale at which we consider the past while Ostoga-Zagorski contributes a brief note on the Bronze Age Iron Age transition. It is a rich if very varied mix.

Yet in the end one is bound to ask - is this the sort of collection that justifies production as a book - and at this price? The ease with which books can be printed and published these days and the unfortunate pressures which academics are under to build up a long list of published papers has led to a rather uncritical attitude to the publication of conference and seminar contributions. What makes a good conference does not necessarily make a good book and there is (or should be) a world of difference between a conference contribution and a published paper. If the papers offered are significant contributions presenting in a thorough manner material or ideas that have not or will not be developed elsewhere, then the generation of a book may well be justified, but if, as in this case, the majority of the more original contributions are summaries, sometimes very brief summaries, of work available elsewhere then elaborate and expensive book production seems unnecessary. Even Kristiansen's brilliant and thought-provoking offering is, we are told, an interpretative sketch for seminar discussion', - a foretaste of a book that has already been written. There is much to be said for the rapid dissemination of seminar papers. Internet now provides the medium. It will make sure that we do not have to wait five years and will spare authors the unwelcome task of working up their contributions for book production when they would rather be getting on with something else. It is a medium we must all learn to use creatively.